While you can look at the code and copy paste what you want, the normal use case is to create your solution based on Sitecore Foundation, remove what you don't need and add what you do. The basic approach is as follows:

Use Sitecore Foundation as the basis of your Helix Solution

Remove Modules you don’t need.

Use Gulp Scripts for Local Builds and Deployments to promote best practices

As mentioned, I use Sitecore Foundation as a way to test new ideas and try different approaches. Currently there are several features that are unique to Sitecore Foundation. These include:

Handlebar Components - Instead of creating components, or creating multiple variants of components with separate renderings, templates and configuration, you can leverage lightweight handlebar components or our new SxA Variant field to create complex UI with speed and flexibility.

Data Exchange Providers - Sitecore’s Data Exchange Framework is a powerful way to build standardized, repeatable import and export processes. Our Providers for Common Data Sources make it easy to configure end to end imports with no code.

Unified Analytics - Why choose Sitecore vs. Google Analytics, Web Trends or other tools when you can tag once and send everywhere? With our Client Side Analytics Library, Analytics.JS Plugin and Our Library of Analytics Components you don’t have to choose.

There is actually a lot more of functionality available, and there is still a lot of blog posts I can write to detail how to best take advantage of it. If you're want information, besides the blog, I've spent a decent amount of time on the Wiki.